The Dallas Cowboys have begun training camp with Micah Parsons in attendance. However, the two sides are nowhere near close to agreeing to terms on a long-term contract extension. The Cowboys have notoriously waited until the last minute to get contract extensions completed. That was evident last year when the Cowboys waited until the last minute to get deals done with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
ESPN's Mike Greenberg recently called out Jerry Jones and the Cowboys for their inability to get deals done with their stars. Greenberg went as far as to say that the salary cap has been Jones' "kryptonite."
“The salary cap has been Kryptonite for Jerry Jones for a long, long time,” said Greenberg, h/t Heavy.com. “From a financial standpoint, his philosophy (on contract negotiations) doesn’t work. From a football standpoint, inarguably, it doesn’t work.”
ESPN calls out Jerry Jones for Cowboys contract philosophy amid Micah Parsons drama
The point that Greenberg has made is that by waiting too long to sign their stars, they are wasting more of their money. That's because the price tag only goes up, especially once players who play similar positions start getting their contracts.
This offseason, the Cowboys are watching the price tag for Parsons increasing due to the contracts pass rushers have received this offseason. Myles Garrett received a four-year, $160 million contact from the Cleveland Browns. The Las Vegas Raiders gave Maxx Crosby a three-year, $106.5 million extension. T.J. watt earned a three-year, $123 million extension. That's some of the major pass rusher deals already completed.
There is still Trey Hendrickson, who is still in a contract hold-in with the Cincinnati Bengals. It's known that the two sides have agreed on total money and years, but they are still far apart on guaranteed money.
As has been the case in the past, the Cowboys waited until just before the season started to get deals done with Lamb and Prescott. For Lamb, they signed him to a four-year, $136 million contract, right after Justin Jefferson received a four-year, $140 million contract. As for Prescott, he received $60 million per year after the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, and Baker Mayfield all got paid.
By waiting, Jones is only going to put the team in worse position, salary cap wise, The Cowboys need to lock Parsons under contract, because he's simply too valuable to let leave. But, he is going to take up a significant portion of cap space. That means the Cowboys will have to ace their drafts from here on out.